The Missionary Cooperation Plan (MCP) was introduced in 1954 to the parishes in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Its purpose was to provide “a systematic method of furnishing each parish in the archdiocese with one missionary once a year.”
For years OLOL has been able to foster our twinning relationship with Outreach to Haiti (OTH) as our MCP mission.
We have been in a twinning relationship in Haiti for over twenty-five years. We have had many parishioners visit Haiti to learn directly about the work of Outreach to Haiti, meet the Haitian people, and experience the Haitian culture. Recently, due to an unstable political situation we have not been able to travel to Haiti. We continue to hope and pray that this situation will change soon and we will be able to continue our parish trips to Haiti.
We do continue to support the ongoing work of Outreach to Haiti (OTH), which continues to operate in these troubled times.
One of the ways OTH impacts the people of Haiti is through their medical clinic. The clinic serves the people of the Kris wa (Christ King) Neighborhood in Port au prince. They have full and part-time physicians, community health agents (that work directly with families in the neighborhood), social workers, and support staff for the clinic and its programs. They offer basic medical services to the people of the neighborhood including immunizations. They have a complete prenatal program that includes nutritional education. They run a successful program for extremely malnourished children. They are currently moving toward setting up a dental clinic. They have hired a part-time dentist for now and have obtained funding to construct a building to house the dental clinic. There is also funding coming to expand medical services.
Education is seen by all as one of the best ways to make a long-term impact in Haiti. OTH has an education program that currently serves around 200 students. Students that are accepted into the program are guaranteed that they can at least stay until they complete High school as long as they keep their grades up. Students are supported with tutoring, access to the OTH computer lab, as well as some nutritional services. Some students have the opportunity to go on to college and beyond. There have been several students that have gone on the obtain medical degrees, become accountants, agronomists, nurses, and complete business degrees. OLOL has directly supported the education program through its many years of twinning with OTH.
FAK (Advancing Women Now) is a project that supports and educates women in forming and operating their own businesses. One participant was able to expand her peanut butter business by purchasing a grinder which enabled her to increase her production. The most remarkable thought she had was that she believed the program was a miracle sent from above because with this expansion she could purchase a wheelchair for her physically challenged daughter!
OTH also helps to set up and support twinning relationships between parishes in the US with parishes/organizations in Haiti.
The day-to-day operation of OTH continues in spite of extremely difficult situations in Haiti. There is a constant threat of violence, kidnappings, and disruption of services that we take for granted in our country. In spite of all this, our OTH employees make it to work and are grateful to be working and helping their fellow Haitians. Your commitment to OTH and its work is a validation to those workers, letting them know that they are not forgotten. Let’s continue to keep the people of Haiti in our prayers. Mesi anpil! (Thank you very much!) Ralph spoke with Jean Marie Brutus, a long-time employee of OTH, this week and mentioned we were talking about Haiti at the masses this weekend. He said that he specifically wants the parish to know how grateful he is for the support the parish has provided over the years. He wants each parishioner to know that he is praying for you and would ask that you pray for Haiti. He really wants visitors to come back to Haiti because it helps him to feel that Haitians are not alone and forgotten.
If you would like to donate you can do that on-line or write a check to OLOL (note Haiti donation in the memo line) and return it in the collection basket or mail it to the office.
Bondye bon (God is good)!
Donate to Outreach to HaitiContact: Ralph Stewart…………………………………………………….. (414) 525-9412
For our Friend:
Jean Marie Brutus
Born: December 6, 1965 – Died: March 1, 2026
Jean Marie was hired to work at Norwich Mission House in 1999. He worked hard and with great enthusiasm at whatever task he was asked to undertake. Over his twenty-six-year career with Outreach to Haiti (OTH) he became a face of the organization to all who passed through its doors in Haiti. He loved to share his gift of humor with visitors but also understood the mission of OTH and he was serious in spreading understanding of what that mission meant to him and to the people of Haiti. He was proud to be a part of that mission.
I met Jean Marie in 1999 and over the years became good friends with him and his family. He taught me that friendship went beyond language as I grappled with Creole as much as he struggled with English. Each morning when visitors from the U.S. were staying at OTH he would hold Creole lessons during breakfast. He would begin “Bonjou, kijan ou te dòmi?” (Good morning, how did you sleep?) He would then provide the response, “Mwen dòmi tankou yon wòch! (I slept like a rock!). He would practice that one exchange over and over each morning for the duration of their stay. I know many people I have taken to Haiti that never learned a lot of Creole, but to this day they know this exchange. Jean Marie was a true ambassador for OTH.
On March 1, 2026 we lost a good and caring person. He loved Haiti, his family, his neighbors, and the mission of Outreach to Haiti. May he rest in peace (like a rock!).
Se pou Bondye beni Jean Marie, fanmi li, ak misyon Outreach an Ayiti!
(May God bless Jean Marie, his family, and the mission of Outreach to Haiti!)
Written by Ralph Stewart
Diocese of Norwich Outreach to Haiti, Inc.
Helping Haitians help Haitians Diocese of Norwich Outreach to Haiti, a sponsored ministry of the Diocese of Norwich, is committed to serve the people of Haiti in the spirit and values of the Gospel. Providing sacramental and spiritual support, Diocese of Norwich Outreach to Haiti offers education, health care, parish twinning opportunities, and community development for Haitians in need and hospitality to international volunteers and visitors.
Non-Discrimination Policy Diocese of Norwich Outreach to Haiti, a 501(c)(3) organization, does not discriminate in any way in its work in Haiti, nor in its hiring practices. All programs and services are provided on the basis of need.
Who We Are
Outreach to Haiti is a successor organization to both Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich and Hospice St. Joseph for the Diocese of Norwich.
The merger in December 2010 of these sister agencies—each of which has been in Haiti for more than two decades—brings together long-standing programs and projects that support Haitians in need. Each now operates as one organization under the auspices of the Norwich Diocese.
All the programs of each agency have been preserved. Work will continue out of the Norwich Mission House (at #7 Rue Lorimer, Route des Frères, Petion-Ville since the earthquake) and at the Christ Roi location of Hospice St. Joseph in Port-au-Prince (at #33 Rue Acacia). Eventually, all operations will have the same Haiti headquarters at the Christ Roi campus.
The Connecticut office of Outreach to Haiti remains at 199 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360. Our phone number (860.848.2237 ext. 206) also stays the same. Our email is: info@outreachtohaiti.org.